Stereoselective deprotonation of tropinone and reactions of tropinone lithium enolate

Tropinone (6) was deprotonated with lithium diisopropylamide and with chiral lithium amides (18–24) and the resulting enolates (two enantiomers) were treated with electrophiles. The aldol reaction with benzaldehyde and deuteration were both diastereoselective. The former yielded only one isomer (exo, anti) of the aldol 8a; the latter proceeded from the exo face. This selectivity permitted us to probe the deprotonation of tropinone with lithium amides; it was concluded that the reaction involves predominantly the exo axial protons. The reaction of tropinone enolate with ethyl chloroformate led, via a ring opening, to the cycloheptenone derivative 9. The reaction with methyl cyanoformate yielded, in the presence of silver acetate and acetic acid, the β-ketoester 8b; however, in the absence of these additives, and especially when 12-crown-4 was added to the enolate, a ring opening leading to the pyrrolidine derivative 10 occurred instead. Deprotonation of tropinone with chiral lithium amides proceeded with modest enantioselectivity. A synthesis of non-racemic anhydroecgonine via this strategy allowed establishing the absolute stereochemistry of deprotonation.